Adrienne Picciotto is a host of exceptional ability. Studies show that a vast majority of guests attending events by Adrienne have been known to leave more elated than visitors to Santa's Workshop, The Lost of Continent of Atlantis, and the Fountain of Youth.

Ellen Nelson

CEO & co-founder

Ellen Nelson is CEO and co-founder of Stone, a leading news and media company for young people. From global affairs and politics to technology and science to sports and music, Stone offers insightful stories and compelling perspectives on the issues that define a generation.

Help us say goodbye to 2018 at this special end-of-year Co-working Day! Learn a new skill to take with you into 2019 or sharpen your craft to perfection before 2018 comes to a close. Whatever you choose to do, we promise you'll have an awesome, inspired time throughout this exciting day filled with workshops & sessions tailored to help you develop your creative idea, skill, or business.

More info: each month, the 202Creates team invites the District's creatives and entrepreneurs to work out of OCTFME's Southeast office, meet fellow creatives & folks in our Residency Program, attend skill-building sessions & workshops, tinker in our Podcast and Photography Studios, get drop-in support for specific business or legal questions, share thoughts & experiences during roundtables, and more! See below for the full line-up of speakers & activities we have planned throughout the day. Scroll all the way down for location info.

this month's co-host

Callaloo

Callaloo is a children’s media brand that promotes cultural understanding and social awareness education for toddlers and children ages 3-7 through books, animation, live performance, digital content, games and arts education tools. Learn more.

schedule

10:00 AM

Arrive

Grab a desk and knock out some emails before an exciting day of programming begins.

During this one-hour session, folks will have a chance to speak in small groups with experts on the following topics: cinematography (Darius Lyles), film producing (Kerith Lemon), and producing original content/self-publishing (Marjuan Canady). Each small group session will rotate every 20 minutes, allowing you to ask each expert all of your burning questions and learn the ins & outs of success within various creative industries. Read each expert's bio below to prepare for this exciting round robin!

12:00 PM

How to Illustrate Like a Pro with Nabeeh Bilal

Location: Conference Room

Take a behind the scenes look at the process and strategy for creating Illustrated works of art. Get tips and advice on illustrating children's books, cover art, characters, and more. Discover how to elevate your project and gain more exposure.

Style Pros Behind the Scenes is produced by My Style Authority. Want to break into the entertainment industry in hair, makeup, or wardrobe? Have you ever wanted to find a mentor in the field to teach you how to turn your talent into business opportunities? If so, this is your time to get the first-hand knowledge about everything you need to know! This session, produced by My Style Authority, is an all-star panel about in the ins and outs of excelling in hair, makeup, and wardrobe professions within the entertainment industry. The goal of this session is to inspire, educate, and support the growth and development of individuals seeking behind-the-scenes style careers.

3:00 PM

Intro to Theatre of the Oppressed with Lori Pitts

Location: Conference Room

Explore the different activities, techniques, and games that makeup Theatre of the Oppressed in this hands-on workshop. We will use our own stories and relationships to social justice issues as a basis to create around. Come ready to discuss, learn, and create!

4:00pm

Fine Tuning Your Podcast: Audio Solutions With Sonia Herrero

Location: Podcast Studio

In this workshop, you'll learn how to upgrade your podcast to professional level sound. Sonia will walk you through each step of the podcast recording process from choosing the right audio equipment to mixing and editing your sound.

4:00 PM

Kickstart your Photography Business with Carl Gray

Location: Photography Studio

So! You you want to start your photography business, but don't quite know how to make it profitable? Come learn how to START your photography business in "The Black". This goes beyond just "being good" on the camera, it's knowing your audience, who you want to attract and who you can target NOW!

5:00 PM

Holistic Business Practices with Tiffany Spearman

Location: Conference Room

This is a workshop designed to help businesses reassess effective approaches for successful company culture and business development. The workshop will address work-life balance skills for today’s professional landscape, effective decision making for leaders, and nurturing the individual within the organization.

Deep-data insights combined with masterful storytelling as never before.

jane doe

Speakers

Marjuan Canady

Artist, Producer, Creative Consultant

Marjuan is the CEO/Co-Founder/Author of Callaloo. She is responsible for leading the company's operations and creative direction. She originated Callaloo as a theatrical play in 2012. Marjuan is also a theatre and film producer, director, performer, playwright, and educator. Her work has been seen Off- Broadway and international theaters and film festivals and supported by The Smithsonian, The Lincoln Center, The Kennedy Center, Harlem Stage, The Miami Book Fair, DC Commission on the Arts and the Caribbean Cultural Center and the United Negro College Fund. She has held fellowships at Sesame Street, 202 Creates, The Schomburg Center for Black Research and Culture and The Caribbean Cultural Center. Canady is the founder of her production company, Sepia Works and her non-profit the Canady Foundation for the Arts. Marjuan holds her B.A. in Theatre and African Studies from Fordham University and her M.A. in Art and Public Policy from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts.

Nabeeh Bilal is a graphic artist raised and based in the ward 8 section of Washington, DC. His work as a designer, animator, illustrator, puppeteer, and entrepreneur lead some to consider him a new age mash-up of Walt Disney meets Jim Henson. He is an alumni of the renowned Duke Ellington School of the Arts as well as a graduate of Temple University, where he received his BFA in graphic & interactive design. Additionally, he is the co-creator, illustrator, and art director of the Callaloo kids children’s media brand as well as a co-founder of CreativeJunkFood, LLC, a multi-media creative studio based in DC which focuses on the art of storytelling through animation, video, and design. He has a thing for Ramen, drum patterns, and sports talk podcasts.

Darius Lyles is a filmmaker who has over 11 years of production experience working on network TV shows as well as feature films. He is the epitome of a camera nerd who loves to talk codecs and image quality. Darius holds his B.A. in Film Production from Howard University.

From costume and fantasy to couture, from glam to grunge, from runway to ready-to-wear, Tracey Matthews displays her versatility. Although her personal style leans more towards rocker/gothic glam, her aim is to achieve the look best suited for whatever project is the focus. Tracey's work has been seen on film, on runway productions and is coming soon to the stage!

Kerith Lemon is a bi-costal writer, director and producer with rich experience in docu-style storytelling, creative narratives and production. Lemon brings to the table a unique background as a commercial director having worked previously as a programming and production executive at CBS Radio, Nickelodeon and MTV Games and the OWN Network, as Vice President of Digital Video.

She is currently hustling on several new commercial projects and in development on her first feature film.

Sonia Maria is an audio engineer, podcast producer, music producer, and violinist in Washington DC. She is also a member of Women in Music, Inc. and the Women's Audio Mission. She works to propagate a female presence in the music and audio industry. She has worked for Vox Media, Voice of America, and Bloomberg.

Tiffany N. Spearman is an arts administrator and consultant originally from upstate New York. She has over ten years of dance performance, teaching artist and choreography experience, working with notable companies such as Sydnie L. Mosley Dances, Inclined Dance Project and INSPIRIT Dance Company. She is also a contributor for Arianna Huffington’s Thrive Global publication. She is a graduate of Boston Conservatory.

Jessica Dew is the Founder and CEO of My Style Authority (MSA), LLC. With a creative background in wardrobe for the film, television, theater and beauty industry, Jessica realized the need for a platform where professional artists in the beauty and fashion industry can be matched with clientele from all parts of the world. And this gave birth to MSA! Jessica has worked with and coordinated various productions and events with a variety of industry professionals.

Lori Pitts is an Applied Theatre practitioner, Joker, teaching artist, performer, and director in the DMV area. She is passionate about creating platforms for voices that often go unheard. In addition to her work with Voices Unbarred, she is a core member of the DC Coalition for Theatre & Social Justice. Pitts has most recently performed with Ally Theatre, Rorschach Theatre, Young Playwrights’ Theater, and FRESHH Inc. She is a 2016-2017 recipient of the Arts and Humanities Fellowship Program grant through the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities for her work within the community.

An artisan in the beauty industry, Esquire Stelly has spent nearly ten years transforming and creating polished looks for a roster of satisfied customers—from women leaders and models to brides and everyday women. His creativity and expertise has been trusted by a list of celebrity clients, including gospel recording artist, Yolanda Adams, and entertainers Kim Coles, Malorie Bailey-Massey, and Vince Young. Esquire received his training in makeup from M.A.C Cosmetics and gained experience working under accomplished makeup artists Ashley Dorsey-Rudder and Danny Martinez. He has applied his knowledge to multiple facets of the field: he was previously selected as the resident makeup artist for WeTV's SISTERS IN LAW. He has also served as senior beauty advisor to cosmetics giants MAC and AVON. Esquire now spends time sharing his teachings in facilitated makeup master classes.